Demise of the Pine Tree

Out back of our cabin is a 75-foot pine tree.  But the beetles got to it and killed it this last fall.  Since it is situated between two powerlines, it is bound to fall through one of them.  So, our landlord contacted the power company to see if they could take it down without it falling through our bedroom roof.  They spent all day here with a 75 ft. bucket truck ... very carefully trimming off all the branches and then cutting it down.  Click on any of the pictures below to see a larger image.

After trimming off all the branches and topping the tree

This fellow was ever so glad to get back down to the ground.

This bucket doesn't stay solid up there in the air.

It was actually swinging in the wind as he was cutting.

When you look down from a moving bucket, from that high

up in the air ... it's a long ways down!

He said, "I said every prayer that I knew ...

and a few that I made up besides!"

This fellow's job was to take down the main trunk.

After sawing a wedge out in the direction he wanted it to fall, he is now cutting in from the other side.

He didn't saw it all the way through, but enough so when he pushed on it, it broke free and fell.

Here's the next big section.  Notice he is now using a much bigger gas-powered chainsaw.

After putting the rope around the top of the bottom section, he is folding the bucket back down onto the truck.

Now he is cutting a huge wedge out of the bottom section.

"Thar she blows!"

look at the size of those logs behind him.

All down safely.

Now my landlord needs to take a look at the logs and see what he wants to do.

They might com back and clean up the debris on Monday.

Morning Iris blooms

 This one is just around the corner.

A beautiful white one with purplish-blue ones.

This beautiful purple one is over in Kat's garden.

Morning sightseeing ... Afternoon welding

 We went driving around looking at the combinations of blooming dogwood tress and azalea bushes.  This one was particularly pretty.

 This was the strangest tree that we saw ... kind of a furry tree.

 Look at this close-up of the furry tree and see what I mean.

 some pretty pink tulips.

 Azaleas in the background, a popcorn ball bush in the middle ...

have no idea what the two yellowish flankng bushes are.

 Just a serene shot with ferns, azaleas, camillas, and some bridal wreath flowers.

Spent the afternoon working on cutting, filing, grinding, and welding metal.

Working on building this Long-John style cargo-bike (bakfiets).

With it sitting like this, I placed my two hands on that skinny section in the middle, pressed down until my feet were completely off the floor ... it didn't buckle or bend under 245 lbs. of excess weight.  It may just work as a cargo bike.  :-))

A Little Digging, A Little Welding

 

Dan and I were digging a "French Drain" 

and playing with a water line 

 

 Then I did some welding on this Long-Tom cargobike frame.

Better fotos tomorrow.

Sunburned Back-of-Neck

Good thing I covered up the bulging belly with my forearm.

I rode rusty "Ol' Red"

yesterday it was 94℉ clear & sunny.

I wore a light T-shirt, shorts, and sandals 

to do a 15-mile ride with grandson.

It pains me to say ... 

I sunburned the back of my neck!

5 laps on a 3-mile course can be a bit tedious

particularly when it is close to grandson's home ...

and he wants to take a break after every lap, ...

although as we neared the end of the 4th lap,

he asked, 

"Can we just keep going,  do the last lap, and get it over with?"

So that's what we did.

Which brings us back to multiple applications of aloe-vera

:-)

Dogwoods, Azaleas, and Weeds

 Pines, azaleas, dogwood, weeds

 Specimen tree and dogwood

 White wisteria

More azaleas, dogwoods, and pines

 Similar lawn weeds in various colors - lavender

Violet weeds

 Purple weeds

Contrasts

 

Love the contrast between the pine needles and the wisteria. 

 Another tulip tree variant ... next door neighbor.

 This wisteria smells divine

Girls at Church

I took a couple of fotos of some girls at church today.  They are young and cute.  Thought you'd enjoy ...

Here they are dodging the camera.

They decided to have a group of friends photo.

Wife Out shopping

I had to take the wife out shopping today ... she also needed breakfast at Hardees, a haircut, visits to Save a Lot and WalMart.  Pulled pork BBQ sandwich for lunch (no fotos of these because they disappeared too quickly).  And along the way we passed this old house with lots of wisteria vines and honeysuckle around it.  Oh, that's a lugustrum tree on the left (for those with breathing problems).

Summer is Coming

It must already be Spring, because

it was in the mid 80's ℉ today

and the wisteria is blooming

wisteria in bloom ... wild along the roadway.

The tulip tree has lost its flowers

and has pretty green leaves.

Out and About

I was out and about today ... 

walking down a dirt road

In this area, 4 deer ran across the road 

and headed for the distant trees.

Darn cold tonight.

Garett's Ride

Garrett did the first of his 15-mile rides today.

The first half of the ride was into the wind.

It seemed like it took forever to get into Houston County 

and reach the 7.5 mile mark.

He finally made it to the feed and seed building.

The 2nd half with the wind at his back was a LOT easier.

Things he saw along the way ...

an interesting street sign.

a silver fox-squirrel.

and a medium-sized attack dog that didn't like BB's.

With about 4 miles left, we got a call from Grandma saying that she had locked herself out of the house ... and could we please come and let her back in.  Sure, just as soon as we get back to the car ...  :)

Cleaning & Lost Items

This is the lovely view across the country today ...

Wisconsin, Minnesota, and I-94 are guaranteed snow.

I-80 thru Nebraska snowed yesterday ... again today.

A LOT of rain there in the eastern half of the country.

Took this foto while I was out riding this morning.

Fighting wind, so I only went about 10 miles roundtrip.

I've been riding this bicycle along with grandson 

as he works on his Cycling Merit Badge.

Aluminum frame Mongoose "Paver" touring bicycle (on sale at WalMart a few years back for $100), 2 water bottles, 27" wheels, only 7-speeds, Velo_Orange leather seat, Crank Bros. "Candy" pedals, and a spring rack on the back for carrying things.  The pedals and seat aren't original.  I wear Bike Nashbar clip-on riding sandals.

Looking at a 15-mile ride tomorrow morning.

While I was doing paperwork yesterday morning,

I actually went through all those papers there to the right & under the monitor ... I discovered 2 important things: 1) my ID necklace that I've been missing for 3-4 months. 2) the box with all my checks ... that I've been looking for since I ran out a month ago.

Stuff can just pile up on you, get out of sight, and lost ... just that easy.  Sigh.

Glad I found them.  :)

Hookin' Up

Smokin Joe's Shadow

Sheba

Sheba hooked up ...

Hoping for "Bugs"